Breaking Bonds
by MEStarr
Summary: Straight after 2x22, something happens to Elena on her way home, forcing her to leave town. 10 years later a familiar blue eyed vampire inadvertently finds her in her new life. DELENA all the way :
1. Chapter 1

**Breaking Bonds – Chapter One – Preview**

**A/N:**

**One main thing that you should know is that Jenna didn't die but she did become a vampire. But apart from that, everything else is pretty much the same as it was. **

**I don't own the Vampire Diaries…it's so obvious I don't see the point in saying it : )**

**And also, prepare yourself for the onslaught of swearing. I do apologize, I was moody when I wrote this **

**Here goes…**

(Elena's POV)

"Are you sure you're alright? I don't want to leave you alone tonight."

"I'm _fine_ 'Lena! I'm already back to my usual breath-takingly beautiful self." Damon smirked, holding out his arms so I could get a good look at his bare chest through his unbuttoned shirt.

I rolled my eyes, trying to keep my eyes away. It's not my fault! It just means I'm not blind, "Of course Damon. But I'll be round first thing in the morning and I'll expect to find you still in bed. I'm even tempted to take _all_ the bourbon with me…"

He let out a mock-growl and stepped closer menacingly, an amused glint in his eyes, "You wouldn't _dare_…" well that there was a challenge.

I smiled up at him innocently and sidled past him to his favourite bottle of whiskey, picked it up and looked over at him. He was watching me closely, "Stay where you are Damon," I ordered before turning around. This was going to seriously piss him off. I reached into the inside of my jacket and pulled out the vervain dart which I'd tucked in there earlier today before setting off to look for Damon. Shame I never had the time to use it before he bit me…but after Katherine had turned up with the cure he'd persuaded me to drink a little of his blood to heal the wound. I think he didn't want to see it because it made him feel so bad. Very carefully, I unscrewed the lid, pressed the button to release the vervain and re-hid the dart. Shaking it slightly, I turned and smiled at a confused Damon, raising the bottle to my lips and taking a sip.

He was over in a second and grabbed it back, "Uh-uh…not my bourbon," he said with a growl as I swallowed and laughed, "What did you do to it?"

I shrugged, "Try it." I challenged him, "Don't use your nose; you have to guess."

For a minute he just looked at me, trying to figure out what I was doing, "You better not have put mints in it…" he muttered before raising the bottle to his mouth. Never one to refuse a challenge, he took a gulp; then gagged and spat it all back up over the couch, choking and clutching his undoubtedly burning throat, "Ver-vain…" his glazed eyes staring up at me incredulously.

I just smiled at him, feeling slightly guilty for his reaction, "I'll buy you another bottle. Now go to bed, rest and don't get up until I come back. I put a load of blood bags by your bed." I ordered, feeling a bit like his mother…no…nurse; that's better, "Please Damon, I'm already worrying about you."

Finally over his little poisoning, he straightened up and put his hands of my shoulder, "First, you better; and I _will_ get you back for that. Second, don't worry about me Elena. Worry about my brother, your brother, Bonnie…not me." I opened my mouth to interrupt but one look silenced me, "Now _you_ go home and _you_ get some rest. You're knackered."

"Being semi-drained does do that to you," I mused jokingly, then saw his expression and sighed, "You were hallucinating. Don't. Worry. I don't blame you for anything." I leant up on my tip-toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, my mind going back to a few hours ago when I'd kissed him on the lips…somehow we'd managed to completely ignore the little deathbed DMC back there. "Night Damon, see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight 'Lena. Drive safe." He smirked, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes and I knew he was referring back to my little crash before Georgia.

I rolled my eyes, gave him a final smile before leaving the house. As I got in my car I felt pretty drained; emotionally and physically (no pun intended). The journey back seemed to stretch on forever and, just because of my incredible luck, the damn car engine began to sputter and slow a few blocks from my house. Dropping my head onto the steering wheel as I pulled into the side of the road before the huge machine finally died, letting out a frustrated groan. "Shit, crap, fuck my life." I sighed. Why, _why_ did I always run out of fuel and battery on my phone at the same time?

Grabbing my dead phone and slipping it into my back jean pocket, putting my bag over my shoulder, I got out of the car, locked it and put the keys in my jacket pocket. Then came the not-so-long walk home. Being almost midnight, the deserted streets were only lit up by the occasional neon street lamp. I found myself imagining hearing footsteps behind me, like I usually did whenever I was alone. Damn always being in danger.

Oh wait…there actually _were_ footsteps behind me.

I froze and whipped my head around…no-one there. Of course there was no-one there…whoever it was would blatantly be a vampire. Expecting it, I wasn't surprised to see the vampire standing a foot in front of me. Fangs on show and vamped-out face…sufficiently terrifying looking. I didn't recognize him at all but he had short dirty blonde hair and, right now, black eyes. My heart was racing and I took a little step back, "Don't-…" I stammered, staring at the man.

"Aww…but I'm _so_ _thiirrsttty_…" he said with a mocking smirk.

"Not me. For your own sake not me." I told him, not sure where the words were coming from.

He blinked in surprise, "For _my_ sake? What are you going to do?" he questioned, arrogance seeping from his every move.

"There are a _lot_ of vampires in this town." Three, "And werewolves," One, "Even a witch," One…"And I'm friends with all of them." (More or less), I told him, not faltering at his unwavering overconfidence, my words made no difference to him. Damn, I went for one better, almost desperately, "I'm the doppelganger!"

"And I'm hungry," he said with a cocky laugh, before promptly lunging for me and sinking his fangs into my neck. I let out a scream at the initial pain. Suddenly feeling déjà-vu of when Klaus killed me last week. My vision blurred and began to pale around the edges as I felt the strength leaving me with eat tug at my neck. "Please-"I whispered but I knew it was useless. The fog began to seep through the cracks in my mind, slowly…painfully, swallowing me up. Then it all went black.

Everything was blurry. My body felt strange; like I was waking up with a _really_ bad hangover. I was lying on something hard and in an incredibly uncomfortable position too. Groaning slightly, I opened my eyes and pushed myself up onto my elbow; looking around at the dark street in confusion. What the hell? Why was I lying on the pavement?

Stiffly, I sat up, the world instantly spinning around me. What was going on? I don't remember drinking anything…or even going out for that matter. Apart from that sip of Bourbon at Damon's, but anyone who passes out and has _this_ bad a hangover after one sip of whiskey is absolutely pathetic. Plus I can hold my drink. So that ruled that out.

I'd been at the Boarding House, telling Damon to rest. Then I'd gotten in my car, which was parked about ten meters away from me. I'd started walking and-…oh god….oh _shit_!

There was a vampire…some unknown vampire. _Fuck_! They'd killed me! But I was still alive…I couldn't have…no. No that wasn't possible. I couldn't be-. Another memory hit me…drinking a bit of Damon's blood to heal the bite…

No.

Fucking hell I was transitioning! How could this happen! Why couldn't I walk a block without being caught by something supernatural? Oh wait…I _was_ supernatural. Shit, shit, shit, shit! How could I face everyone again? What would they do? What would _Damon_ do? He'd think I was Katherine, no doubt about that. But when he realised…oh god. Jeremy would think I was a hypocrite; after all I hadn't let him change. Bonnie would hate me, because she's a witch and I'm…a…v- no. I have a choice. I don't have to do this. I could not feed on anyone and then after a few days of serious, intense pain…I'd die. Really die.

Did I want that? God no, of course not.

Did I want to be a vampire? Well I'd thought about it…obviously. That long walk before the sacrifice with Stefan; up the waterfall. I didn't want it then. I wasn't so sure what my views were now. If I had a choice, I'd be human. But really, according to Elijah at least; I've never really been human.

John would have died in vain. He did a spell to stop me turning into a vampire knowing that it would take his own life. That knowledge had gained me a lot of respect for him; whether or not I'd liked him.

This was just so bad. My head was already ringing, like an alarm was going off right next to my ears. The non-existent sound waves blurring my vision. Surely it couldn't get worse than this? But of course it could; it'd most likely be like the pain I'd seen Damon earlier. I couldn't face that…but if I ended it before then…

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts and worries that I didn't notice the woman stumbling drunkenly down the middle of the road towards me. "Oi…y'alright luv?" she called, her voice ringing unusually loudly in my ears and I winced.

"Fine." I muttered, glancing up at her. She was about 50 years old perhaps, dressing much too young with awfully done make-up. She had horrifically died bottle blonde hair with even worse dark highlights; contrasting with the…literally, ginger skin. Just a disaster area really…I found myself wondering what Caroline would say to this sight.

"You're sitting in the road." She stated, her voice slurred. Then, before I could do anything, she suddenly tripped over her own feet and crashed to the floor. On instinct, I was up and over there as fast as I could, immediately regretting it. While she was lying on her back and giggling hysterically up at the sky, my gaze was fixed on the shallow cut on her forearm. Not thinking straight, I collapsed to my knees and grabbed her arm, staring at the beads of red liquid like a drug addict looking at a baggy of the drugs they'd been cruelly deprived of. "Are you sane?" the drunk laughed, watching me with fascinated cloudy eyes.

"I don't want-…I can't-"I muttered, transfixed by the blood. I could feel something pulling me towards it, slowly and hesitantly leaning down. My brain and heart were screaming at me to stop but I just couldn't, "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…" I didn't know who I was talking to really. Delirious just by the sight of the liquid, I let my mouth close around the cut, licking the wound tentatively. As the first trickle of blood ran down my throat I let out a groan of appreciation, sucking slightly until no more blood came from the little cut.

"What are-"I could hear a voice distantly but I wasn't listening. Frustrated with the sudden lack of blood, I felt something push through my gums with a short burst of white hot pain, then I bit down. Now that was better. The heavenly drink poured down my throat and for a minute I was oblivious to the quiet whimpering and pathetic struggling of something against me.

Suddenly aware, I gasped and jumped away from the woman, somehow finding myself on the other side of the street.

What had I done?

My hearing was suddenly incredible, I heard one last long husky breath before the woman fell silent….I'd killed someone. My sight was startling; I could see every single hair on her head, even from this distance. My sense of smell…well that goes without saying. The blood…I could smell the blood. Sweet and delicious. But I couldn't have more…I couldn't do that again. Then finally, my hearing. I could hear everything; a couple in one of the houses lining the street were discussing buying a dog. A bird just landed in that tree.

Someone was about to walk around the corner.

I swore and dashed shockingly fast, behind the first bush I saw; watching the corner closely. I saw a blonde head of hair first, and then the tall girl, about 18, rounded the corner. What am I talking about 18? She was 18 in exactly 28 days.

Caroline.

She froze on seeing the dead woman in the road. Disappearing, and then suddenly reappearing, crouched over the woman. She looked around quickly before whipping out her phone. I heard it ring, then, "Damon, we have a problem."

Oh fuck she had to call him. That meant he'd be here in a matter of minutes…not resting, "A few blocks from the Gilberts, there's a body on the road…yeah, definitely a vampire. And a messy one at that; probably new..." Shit, "No, you have to help me! _I _don't do this bit. _You_ are the one who does these things and also the one who cleans up…I don't care if Elena told you to rest! I need help with this. Don't use Elena as an excuse to get out of this!" Was she shouting? Or was that just me. I wanted to go over to her, but of course I couldn't. "Fine. I'll call Ric. Twat." She finished with a growl before hanging up. "What an asshole." Amen to that.

I leant forward slightly, accidently moving some leaves in the process. In a second she'd whipped around to look in my direction. Crap.

I had to get out of here. I super speeded it to my house, finding myself unable to get in. Well that was just perfect. Hesitating, I pondered what to do; quickly deciding against knocking on the door. That would give me away and I couldn't endanger their lives. I couldn't even face thinking about their reactions.

I just had to leave.

(Damon's POV)

I let out a sigh and collapsed onto my unmade bed; which smelt about as good as it looked. Damn werewolf-induced near-death-experiences; they really ruined everything.

I'd been out since midnight with Blondie and the teacher guy; hiding the body and wondering where the vampire who killed the person was. Not exactly the best night in the world. I still felt like shit and Blondie only seemed to realise that after she'd told me to hide the corpse. Wait…when did I start taking orders of off her? What the hell is going on in the world?

We'd concluded quickly that it was either a new vampire or my dear Ripper of a brother. Then Alaric suggested that perhaps it was a warning or something from Klaus. Evidence of what he'd turned Stefan into and what he's capable of. I found myself silently cursing Lexi for ever teaching him to contain his urges rather than control them. He was the definition of a monster when he was like this. Too long and he'd never come back. We were all slightly confused to find Elena's black SUV parked on the road but Alaric had told me she'd already arrived home so I wasn't so worried. Lazily I threw off my shirt and let sleep overtake me, falling into a deep slumber.

It can't have been more than five minutes that I was being shaken awake. I let out a growl, thinking that whoever this was was going to get a stake through their heart if they didn't piss off. "Damon wake up now! I _will_ pour this vervain on you!" I shot up at the threat, expecting to see Elena standing beside the bed. Instead I found myself glaring at Jeremy Gilbert.

What the fuck. "_What_ are _you_ doing in my room? Waking me up? You better have a damn good reason-"

"Where's Elena?"

I froze at his interruption, watching him with a confused expression, "What do you mean 'where's Elena'? She's at home."

He frowned and shook his head, "Not this morning. I called Caroline and Bonnie but they have no idea. I thought maybe she'd have stayed here 'cos she was here late last night." He explained.

I could feel panic rising through me but tried to remain calm…and contain the anger too, "She's not here. She left around midnight." I stood up, forcing him to step aside. There were a million questions flying through my head; what had she done? Was she okay? Was she _alive_? No, I'd know if she was dead…I'd feel it. But what if someone had taken her (again)? _Where was she_?

"The others are downstairs." Her brother told me before leaving the room. I took a deep breath and grabbed another shirt before speeding down to the parlour. Sure enough, everyone was there; Alaric, Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy and finally, Vampire-Jenna. She looked pretty over-whelmed, probably due to this being her first 'meeting' of sorts. It struck me how much our number had fallen recently.

"Where is she?" Jenna demanded before I could speak, her voice alarmingly loud.

Whether it was because of the whole still-recovering thing or the lack of sleep (which shouldn't really affect me), it seemed magnified a million times in my head and I winced, "Not. Here. Let's not panic yet; it's only been like eight hours. Knowing her she'd probably gone to…Mutts or something." Keep that cool façade Damon; that should stop you ripping all their heads off.

"Mutt? And eight hours? Damon it's been almost a day! It's six o'clock!" she countered. I blinked and looked at the old clock on the wall. Oh shit…when did that happen? "Where is she?" she said again.

Open the flood gates to panic now. "Bonnie; do that tracking spell now." I ordered. Not able to ignore the authority in my voice, she set about getting everything ready.

Caroline appeared beside me, looking worried, "Damon…we found her car right next to the body…now she's gone. What if it _was_ Stefan and-"

I cut her off, not even wanting to think about it, "No, Caroline-"I couldn't remember ever calling her, or Bonnie for that matter, their real names. Usually I just used nicknames, "If it was Stefan, then it would have been her body lying on the road. My guess is another vampire took her. And rest assured…when I find them, they're dead." It couldn't have been Stefan; I refused to believe that she would be in the hands of a ripper and an original.

The frown didn't leave her face but she nodded, "Damon, this isn't working…" Bonnie called to me. I was at her side in an instant, staring at the map and the little drop of blood, "I don't know what it is. I could do this before the witches and I can do everything else. But this just won't work."

I glared, snatching up an old box off a nearby table which belonged to an old 'friend' of mine who I knew to be dead, "Try this as a test." I demanded, almost desperate.

Her eyes widened, "What? Urgh…fine, give me their name."

"Quentin Hart." I said, not missing a beat. He'd been the first warlock I'd ever met, about 70 years ago. I watched closely as she started muttering under her breath, the droplet of blood quickly moved to a small town in southern France, "See, it works." 'Cos that's where I left his body.

"I know! But it's not working for Elena!" she shouted, clearly frustrated.

I leant forward, feeling the anger bubbling up, "Try. Again." It came out as a growl, "Dammit Witch! Find her!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Breaking Bonds – Chapter Two**

**A/N: Shockingly long by my standards. But hey, you may appreciate it : )**

(Elena's POV)

Ten years. Ten long years of blood and immortality. Ten years of a new life.

I was now Elena Petrova; one of the top architects along the golden coast. Very nearly the boss of Carson, Wilsons & Sons; a leading firm in Los Angeles where I now live. Secretly a vampire, naturally.

So that was my new life. I'd left Mystic Falls behind and ran off like a coward to the other side of the country. Of course it was impossible to forget, but most of the time I managed alright. It wasn't exactly easy when I still talked to some of the people there. A few months after I left I'd called Jenna to ensure her I was still alive; we talked at least once a week now. She'd even visited a few times. She'd also told Caroline and Bonnie that I talked to her; the latter managed to do a spell and figure out my number. They called me once a week too. Of course I stayed in contact with my ghost-seeing brother. How could I not? Alaric stayed in touch too; he and Jenna had gotten married six years ago. I hadn't been there.

Only Jenna knew of my vampirism. She was one herself so it didn't take her long to figure it out once she saw me. I don't think she liked it…no, I knew she didn't. She never wanted it for herself and knowing that I was now one too; she felt like she'd 'failed' me or something ridiculous. I literally had to drill it into her head that she hadn't, at all.

Then there were the people I hadn't spoken too…the people who may or may not know if I was alive. Damon Salvatore was one such person. I couldn't face him when I left and the time stretched on and I kept putting it off…after a while I realised I'd left it _too_ long. That I genuinely _couldn't_ face him now. He'd hate me anyway. Jenna and the others told me he'd looked for me, that I should come back or at least call him. I'd always said 'maybe', 'I don't know', 'I'll think about it'. Then, three years after I'd left, I got the call saying that he'd taken off. That he'd simply packed up his things and left Mystic Falls. Apparently his last words to Alaric were 'there's no point in staying anymore'. Needless to say I felt like shit hearing that. Guilty. Some huge force literally begging me to hunt him down. But I was too much of a coward to do what I most wanted.

I guess another one of those people would be his brother, Stefan. The ex-'love-of-my-life'. But to be honest, I had seen him since I left; the same night that he left with Klaus; the werewolf/original vampire hybrid and therefore the most dangerous thing on this earth. It had been four years ago and I was passing through a little town, similar to Mystic Falls, in Wyoming. When I got there all I could find was scattered mangled bodies and blood. Nothing was tidied up; there was clearly no effort to hide the massacre. On the road out of town I heard noises from a small cottage. Inside, I found none other than Stefan Salvatore painfully and relentlessly draining a woman, she couldn't have been older than me…

_(Flashback)_

_ "Stefan!" _

_The Ripper's head shot up to stare wildly at me; dark eyes surrounded by dark veins. His mouth bloodied and clothes stained red. "You…" he gasped manically; totally overcome by the bloodlust he'd spent so long hiding._

_I was shocked…but I shouldn't have been. I knew he was like this now; Katherine had told us, then Damon had explained to me. Hell, I even saw a mild version of it a few months before I left. "Stefan you can't do this anymore." I announced, somehow confident in the face of certain danger. He wasn't the Stefan I knew anymore._

_A low, arrogant smirk spread over his face, "Yes I can…I _love_ it." He chuckled, bending his head to finish off the woman and let her drop to the floor. I hadn't noticed the little boy, no more than six years old, cowering in the corner until Stefan reached out and grabbed him. _

_I gasped, "No! Stefan no! Don't hurt him. You can't hurt a child!" I yelled, stepping forwards but it was too late, he'd already ripped the poor boys throat out. I let out a small scream of absolute shock, stepping back and staring at the stranger in shock. "I can't believe you just did that…" I muttered._

_He looked proud. It made me sick. "Elennaa…" he dragged my name out in a mockingly soft voice, stepping closer, "Damon had his way with you. You're in hell now." He stated, always smiling, "You should be like me. It's…" he paused, sardonically, then, "…_exhilarating_…" he breathed._

_I felt like I was going to be sick, wanting nothing more than to run away and rid this man from my mind, "You're disgusting. I wish you could see yourself."_

"_Oh but I _can_ see myself, 'Lena. And. I. _Love_. It." _

"_You love this? Murdering _children_?" I asked disbelievingly, "An endless life of murder, alone?"_

"_But I'm not alone. I have Klaus. Now _he_…he is a noble man." My mouth dropped open a little, remembering I'd said the exact same thing about Elijah. By his expression, I knew that was the point, "Yes I remember Elena…I remember _everything_. And I am so glad I left with Klaus. Away from Damon. Away from _you_. Your _pathetic_ little life." _

_I stared at him for a minute, stunned. This was not my Stefan. This was a monster. "Then you _stay_ away from it. Goodbye Ripper." _

_(End of Flashback)_

My last words to him. And I was…have been…thankful never to see him since. Seeing him kill that little boy had really hit home what a psycho he had become. I told Jenna…who passed the message on to everyone else. I don't know whether or not Damon found out.

But that's enough of the doom and gloom. I was just arriving home now; to my three bedroom apartment in the city. "I'm home." I called out even though I heard nothing from within. Switching the light on, I came face to face with a man.

He had short dirty blonde hair, worn like he'd just got out of bed. Originally, his eyes were a dark, striking emerald and he was at least a head taller than me. Right now, his eyes were black and surrounded in dark veins…you know the rest.

I sighed and felt my lips curve into a smile, "Hey there Sebby." I cooed, just to spite him.

With a deflated sigh, he dropped his shoulders and allowed his face to return to normal, "You are so annoying 'Lennie. You just won't let me scare you!"

I laughed and pushed his shoulder slightly as I passed to walk into the open plan kitchen, grabbing a blood bag from the fridge, "I'm sorry, but you do that every night. It kinda loses it's affect after the first time."

He grinned and slouched onto the sofa, taking a sip of his whiskey. I'd met Sebastian almost the week I arrived in LA. Only really due to his attempt to eat me for dinner…didn't work obviously. For some reason, seeing my slight newborn-craziness, he'd decided to take me in and teach me the art of being a vampire. Hence why I was so controlled and, I guess, human-like now. Not in the way Stefan was…more like Caroline. He was around 600 years old so pretty invincible. He was the oldest vampire I'd ever met…save Klaus and Elijah; you couldn't get older than them. Somewhere along the line we'd become best friends; buying this flat together and just always being there for one another. He knew everything about my past.

"How was work? You're back late."

I shrugged, "Alright, really wanted to eat Tim today." Tim Jacobs…most arrogant asshole on the planet. And also my competition at work.

He shot me one of those looks, "Oh El, I've taught you better than that. Besides; I'd like to be the one to do it. I hate that boy." Ouch…boy. I laughed and collapsed onto the other sofa, "I have to go to San Francisco for tomorrow by the way. Zaria's managed to get herself into trouble again and I need to sort it out." Zaria was…well, I guess you'd call her his child; he made her a vampire two years ago when he was passing by and saw the crash. On a deserted road somewhere in Arizona, she'd literally wrapped her car around a tree. Sebastian was a good man; barely conscious, she'd begged for him to save her and, against his better judgement, he did so. She was only 17 then and she still couldn't control the blood-lust properly. He looked after her like he did me, just it wasn't as easy.

"That's alright. I've got a long weekend too." I told him, "But right now? I am going to bed." He rose an eyebrow, clearly sceptical, "I know, I know. I'm dead, I'm not meant to be tired. But I am…so I'm going to sleep it off." I stood up, ruffled his hair and headed down the short hallway to my room, "Night babe," I called, not turning.

"Goodnight Lennie."

Sebastian had left by the time I woke up; leaving a note next to the coffee machine to say he'd call. I took a shower before dressing in work clothes; a tight black pencil skirt and a thin white shirt with ¾ length sleeves. I curled my hair to fall in loose waves and pulled on some four inch black velvet heels. My ornate lapis lazuli ring on the fourth finger of my right hand. Sebastian had given it to me pretty much the day we met; it had belonged to a long-time friend of his who'd died…_actually_ died. It fit perfectly and the colour was beautiful; more subtle than any I'd seen before and slightly more aqua coloured.

The day was already hot so I just pulled on a dark grey cardigan, grabbed my bag and a mug of coffee and left the flat. It was a twenty minute walk to the office; occasionally I did it super-speed but usually I preferred to take it at human-speed and enjoy the day. Entering the code, I walked into the office floor and made my way through the cubicles to my office; perfectly placed with windows on two sides to get a view of the city and sun light almost all day. The actual office was in a tall, modern block; the 'Big Guys' upstairs were on the top floor. A few more weeks and I could be joining them…

"Hey Boss! Where's my coffee?" I laughed at Eva, my secretary and close friend.

"Don't push your luck." I smirked, stopping by her desk outside my office and picked up the little pile of notes and reminders that she always kept on the corner, "There was only enough for one. And I couldn't be bothered to stop off at Starbucks."

She mock scowled at me, "_You_ couldn't be bothered? You could be there and back in less than five minutes and you just have to do that eye thing and get off not paying!" Did I mention she knew about vampires? I'd compelled her only once, never to tell anyone about it. Then I'd given her a vervain necklace to prevent any further compulsion. She knew I'd done it and she was fine with that; it was just a precaution after all.

"Hush. Get to work." She gaped disbelievingly at me but I just gave her a teasingly innocent smile and disappeared into my office. The room was big…well, about 7x8 metres. I'd filled it with things but kept it professional; just how I liked it. I sat down in the plush, black turning office chair and pressed the button to turn my computer on. The desk was big and made of glass, and then at the side of the room by the wall was a huge drawing board which I spent most of my day at. Good job I'd always loved art.

The morning past quickly; mainly consisting of designing a new block of flats on the outskirts of town and on the phone to clients. Then after a quick lunch with Eva, we headed to a board meeting which took far too long. I wasn't sure what was wrong with me, but once it was over, I was tired again. I'd had coffee; I'd had blood…hell, I'd even had whiskey (I had a bottle in my draw…don't tell anyone). I suppose even vampires could suffer from lack of sleep. Damn.

Sitting at the drawing board and drawing the floors, literally catatonic, I blinked in surprise when Tim waltzed in and settled himself down in _my_ chair like he owned the place, "Hey Gorgeous."

I sighed and stood up, "Move." I ordered, tired of this routine, he smirked and moved to the other side of the desk and we both sat. "Anything you need?"

"Oh nothing…just thought you might want to know about my new project. You know…the _Wilcox_ building…" What a twat. He was blatantly boasting and not even trying to hide it. He only ever came in here when he had something to brag about.

I didn't fuel it, even though, admittedly, I had hoped to get that project. But I had one better, "Good for you, sorry, I'm really busy right now on the _Emerald_ Project, perhaps we could catch up later?" I said, slyly slipping in the biggest project in the office at the moment, which he didn't know had been taken.

Oh the satisfaction as his face drained of colour, "The Emerald Project?" he questioned, shocked.

I smiled and nodded, leaning back and looking through the folder which had the words emblazoned on the front, "Mm-hmm." Out of the corner of my eye I saw him conceal it quickly.

"Wow, that's impressive. Well, I should get going…lots of work to do…" he stood awkwardly for a minute before heading to the door.

"Bye Tim." I called as he left. The doorway was quickly filled by an amused looked Eva.

"Brilliant…just…brilliant." She grinned, walking inside.

I frowned, "You heard that?"

"Telecoms on." She stated, pointing to the little machine on the desk which we used to talk to each other when we were too lazy to move. I smiled, reminding myself to be more careful. I would never say anything bad about Eva, but someday I might say something in here that I wouldn't want others hearing; who knew. "By the way, you know it's almost eight? Most people have left already."

I blinked in surprise, glancing out the window; oh yeah, it was dark. I was really losing my touch; usually I could feel the cycle of the sun, some vampire affect to know when you can and can't go out. But I have my ring…"Oh, wow…you should go then. I'll just pack up and then be off." I said, standing and gathering together my things.

"Okay, we have a long weekend; so see you Monday."

"Bye Eva, you have a good time." She left with a final wave and, five minutes later, I heard the ping of the lift as she left the office floor. After shutting off my computer and storing all today's work in a filing cabinet, I followed suit.

I waved a quick goodbye to Molly; the girl on the front desk, before heading out, the cold air hitting me instantly but I barely felt it. As I made my way through the familiar dark streets though, I could feel eyes on me. I couldn't hear anyone, but someone was definitely following me. I pulled the sleeves of my cardigan down to cover my hands, a habit of mine, and picked up the pace. The feeling stayed on.

Two blocks from the flat, a massive supernatural force collided into my side, pinning me to the wall in seconds. My breath caught in my throat, not really registering the vampire holding me, "So _this_ is where you've been hiding Katherine." I couldn't withhold the gasp, recognizing the voice…then the face.

"Damon?" No, it couldn't be him…how could he find me? He looked exactly the same…well; he wasn't going to change was he. His shockingly blue eyes piercing mine.

"Well done. Where's my brother?" he demanded, glaring. I frowned; he really thought I was Katherine? Of course he did; Katherine was a vampire, I was meant to be human. Damn having a doppelganger. A low growl ripped through his chest and he slammed me against the wall again, "Where is he!" he yelled menacingly; face darkening.

"I don't know! And I am not bloody Katherine, Damon!" I shouted back, pushing against him but he had over a century on me.

It was his turn to look confused, then somewhat bored, "Nice try. You can't fool me; I don't know where Elena is but I can promise you, she's not a vampire."

I sighed, giving up struggling, "Yeah I am." I said quietly, looking down, "Ten years." I added under my breath.

His grip loosened slightly, when I glanced back up for a second he looked shocked, "Elena?" I gave a tiny nod, trying not to look at him, "I don't understand…" he muttered, totally perplexed.

"Well I'm a vampire." State the obvious; why not, "Ten years. I never wanted it, but this is what I am." I told him shortly.

He released me, stumbling backwards and staring at me, a troubled and shocked expression on his face, "What do you mean? When? Where, why? You just disappeared that night…no-one knew where you'd gone. Bonnie's spells didn't work. What happened?"

Another sigh, "Not here. Come, I'll tell you at home." I said before making my way down the road. I knew he was following and we got to the house in record time. I unlocked the door and switched on the light. Then all of a sudden I was being pinned to the wall (again) by my throat. I let out a little yelp, hearing Damon's shout. Then I saw who it was and scowled as he burst out laughing, "Sebastian you asshole!" I yelled, pushing him back to fall onto the couch.

"I told you I would scare you again! That was perfect." He laughed, only more when I threw the first thing I could find at him, which just happened to be a stake. "Now that's not very nice." He told me with mock-seriousness, "I've never tried to kill you before." I raised an eyebrow, both of us forgetting Damon's presence momentarily, "Okay that was one time! I was hungry and you looked human." He smirked, and then glanced at the doorway, "Who's this?"

I blinked and turned to Damon, "Oh, come in. This, Seb, is Damon Salvatore. Damon this is Sebastian Hawk." I explained as Damon stepped inside and was at my side in an instant; sizing my room-mate up. Hiding a smirk I rolled my eyes, he hadn't changed much.

"Ooh…the elusive older brother." Seb grinned, "Well then…I'll give you two some space." Then he disappeared out of the door.

I ignored Damon's confusion for a minute and crossed to the fridge, grabbing two blood bags and throwing him one. He hesitated before sitting down on the sofa opposite me, "So…it's good to see you." Nice one Elena.

He looked disbelievingly, "Explain. Now. Starting with the night you upped and left."

Okay then, "Right," I thought for a minute before beginning, "So I left your house. Got in my car…headed home. But then a few blocks from my house I broke down…it's kinda blurry memories really. I was walking, and then I could hear someone following. Obviously it was a vampire; humans just don't like me so much." There was a frown on his face but I didn't look at him, "He drained me-"

"What?"

"Shush! I'll explain! He drained my but I'd had your blood earlier to heal that wound. So I turned…fuzzy, can't remember much. But then there was a drunk woman and I think I killed her. Then Caroline was there and I didn't know to do so I ran. Coward."

"Why'd you run? We'd have helped. I would have helped you!" he sounded angry…he had every right to be.

I shook my head, "I couldn't face you like that. Everyone had already lost so many people, and then you were still half-really-dead. I didn't know what to do and all I wanted was blood. I knew I'd only hurt people, I'd already killed someone. So, yeah I ran."

"Did it not cross your mind that maybe it would hurt more when we all woke up in the morning to find you'd disappeared. We didn't know what had happened to you!" his voice was rising slowly with his anger.

"At least it wouldn't be physical." I said with a small smile, "Of course I felt bad Damon. But I called Jenna; she knew where I was. Then she told Bonnie and Caroline, Jeremy and Alaric-"

"But not me." He stated bitterly.

Sigh, "Not you. I told her not to tell you. I told her not to tell anyone but Jeremy; and even he didn't know where I was. Caroline and Bonnie don't; but Bonnie apparently did some spell to get my number once." He looked hurt somewhere amid the annoyance, "I'm sorry Damon. I just couldn't bear it. After everything that had happened me turning would not exactly…please anyone. John _died_ so I wouldn't turn!" I exclaimed, trying to justify things but his expressions gave nothing away, "You have to understand, Damon. You of all people, you _knew_ that I didn't want this. I wanted to stay human but then that happened and I could either not feed and die painfully; which would hurt everyone else. Or I could feed and live this life forever. I was more tempted by the first option but first…it was painful, and second I didn't want to leave Jeremy. I didn't want to make him have to bury yet another grave. That wouldn't be fair."

Now he looked angry again, "And leaving was a better option?"

"He knew I was alive! They all knew I was alive!"

"_But I didn't_" He roared suddenly, making me jump as he got to his feet in vampire speed, "You left me to think that you were dead. I looked for you everywhere! More than I fucking looked for _Stefan_! And you were here with your _boyfriend_ making up some huge lie of a life; and you just let me waste these past few years looking for you because you couldn't _face_ me? You should have told me where you were! At least picked up the phone and let me know! I could have found my brother and brought him back because I would have known that you were _safe_! But you were too _pathetic_ even to pick up the fucking phone!"

Wow he was yelling, absolutely furious. But I wasn't far off the same, I took a deep breath, trying to keep my cool, "Firstly, Sebastian is not my boyfriend. He's a very close friend who pretty much taught me how to be a vampire. Then this life isn't a lie; just because it's somewhere else doesn't mean it's not true." That's that out the way, now for the heavy stuff, "I know it was pathetic for me to not call you but I was starting a new life here and I knew you'd only come and drag me back to Mystic Falls. Sorry but I didn't want that; I missed you…_hell_ I missed you. But I'm not ready to go back. That's why I didn't call you or tell you where I was. I admit, I should have asked Jenna to tell you I was okay but knowing you, you would not have left her or any of the others alone until you got the rest of the limited information out of them. So not so pathetic I don't think." He was frowning, looking too proud to back down, his ice blue eyes somewhat cold. "And finally, Stefan." I sighed, "Boy, you do _not_ want to find him now."

He blinked in surprise, "You know where he is?" His eyes did light up at that, a new hope on his face.

Another sigh, "I saw him about four years ago in Wyoming. He'll be long gone by now; no clue where to." I explained, hardly able to keep the bitter tone out of my voice. He looked confused, "He's a psycho…Damon. As in, _really_…just evil. I just can't-"

Now he seemed absolutely shocked that I would ever talk about his brother, the supposed 'love-of-my-life', like that. "Why? What did he do?" His tone concerned.

I looked him in the eye, shaking my head in disgust as the memories appeared in my minds eye, "He murdered a six-year old boy in front of me. Without even a hint of remorse." I need to find a whole new word for shock because that didn't seem to cover it.

"He what?" Damon murmured, numbly. That was like a cardinal rule for vampires everywhere; you don't kill children. Ever. "Stefan wouldn't do that, Elena."

"Well I didn't think so either. He smiled. He looked _proud_. He said it was '_exhilarating'_. And I told him to stay the hell away from me and I haven't seen him since." My voice shook a little with the disgust that I felt for that man. Thinking of him now, I couldn't even imagine the loving relationship we'd shared. I just saw him and that poor little boy.

His brother looked nauseated. He slumped back into the sofa and I sighed, crossing to the corner table where we kept the alcohol and poured two glasses of his favourite Bourbon. I passed him one and sat down at the other end of the sofa with mine. "So he's really gone then?" he questioned after a few minutes of silence. I nodded and he threw back the drink, "Well that's not good." More silence, I just watched him carefully, "That means I'm going to have to stake my brother. Only Lexi could help him now."

I held back a gasp, but knew that he was right, "Or we could find Elijah," I considered.

He raised an eyebrow, "What could he do?"

"I dunno, compel him? Make him forget?"

He shook his head, "Klaus could over-rule any of Elijah's compulsions. He's older."

"No he's not." I countered with a frown, "I remember clearly; Elijah told me before the sacrifice that was the older brother."

A thoughtful expression came over his face, "Then I shall make it my mission to find him." He concluded, standing to get another glass or whiskey, pausing at the last minute to silently ask permission and I nodded, "You owe me a bottle anyway. If you hadn't left I would have gotten it by now." Wow, now that was bitter.

"Damon-"

He shook his head and downed the glass, "I really hated you for leaving. I thought it was a really bitchy thing to do."

I let out a heavy breath and stood up. Walking down the hallway without a word and routing around in my wardrobe for a second. Less than a minute I returned and dumped the oversized, unopened bottle of Bourbon into his hands, ignoring his surprise, "Well I'm a Petrova. It's only natural." Without another word I went into the kitchen and set about making some dinner. All this hunger and tiredness was making me feel human again. What the fuck? I opened the fridge and set about making baked beans on toast, fully aware that he was standing a few metres behind me, watching me.

"Elena-"

"What?"

I heard his frustrated sigh, "You're not a bitch like her. You never could be."

"Oh I beg to differ. Did I not leave you just like she did? Left you to think I was dead as you were saying not five minutes ago? I am just as bad." I contradicted immediately.

Gently he pulled me round by the shoulder; I felt little sparks at his touch but stubbornly ignored them, "You're _not_. And that wasn't the only thing she did. She was playing both Stefan and me-"

"So did I." I stated like it was blatantly obvious. He frowned, confused, "I was with Stefan, still flirted with you all the time. When you were about to die from that wolf bite I kissed you. Not a pity-kiss either. I kissed you because I _wanted _to. And I had for a while. Stefan knew that. And you probably did too. Just because I did it more inadvertently doesn't make me any better."

It took him a second to recover from that little bit of knowledge, "Yes it does! You never meant that to happen. She did it because she was a spoilt bitch. You loved Stefan, and I was always there trying to tempt you to pick me. So you can blame me for that."

I laughed quietly, "That's not true, because I always kinda liked you. It was acting on suppressed feelings." Oh the look on his face. Somehow over the last few years of vampirism I'd managed to gain a load of confidence. No matter how many years he had on me, I was more of his equal now. Besides, I wasn't with his brother anymore. I didn't have to be so careful with my emotions or words.

His eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of a mischievous look appearing on his face, "What about now?"

I hid a smile and thought for a minute, "Now? I guess that a lot of things have changed…but a few things have stayed the same." I turned off the heat under the stove behind me and took a little step closer, "And with this new vision I can see you a whole lot clearer." He raised an eyebrow in question, "And I must say, you're not looked bad. Especially considering that the last time I saw you, you were covered in sweat and technically on your death bed." I mused.

He smirked and stepped closer; leaving about a foot between us, "Bet you enjoyed that first bit."

"Hmm…I was a bit distracted at the time. You _were _kinda about to die on me." He inched closer still as I spoke. A bit more and we'd be touching.

"Ogling dying men then?" he teased, stopping his approach.

I shook my head, "No…just you."

There was a flash of heat in his eyes and before I knew what was happening, his mouth crashed down on mine. After the initial surprise, I smiled, wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and sank into him. All the built up and suppressed emotions pouring out into that kiss and all I could think was, 'why did I waste so much time with Stefan'?

**So I kinda got bored of writing such a long chapter, sorry that it's such a random place to end. Hope you're enjoying it**

**Also, please do review; I only really update when there's good feedback or I know that people are enjoying the story and want more. Thank you, **

**-M**


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